FCC

Ajit Pai, the son of immigrants from India, grew up in Parsons, a city of 10,000 in rural Kansas, before going to Harvard University and the University of Chicago for law school. His parents came to the United States with "about $10 in their pockets, a willingness to work very hard, and a belief in the American Dream."

Appointed to serve on the Federal Communications Commission in 2012, Pai is one of the most outspoken proponents of free speech on the Internet in Washington.

Google, Facebook and other tech giants should remain free to spy on you, regulators ruled on Friday.

A petition filed with the Federal Communications Commission by the privacy group Consumer Watchdog asked that such websites be forced to respect consumer requests not to have their online activity tracked. The FCC dismissed the petition, stating that it has been "unequivocal in declaring that it has no intent to regulate edge providers."

The FCC voted to reclassify Internet service providers as Title II utilities this year, placing them under laws codified by the Communications Act of 1934 and Telecommunications Act of 1996.